Making your own pasta may take a little longer, but it's easy and the results are so worthwhile - this squid ink pasta is extra special being a vibrant black color, too. It's delicious with a range of sauces and served alone of with other pasta colors.
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I remember many years ago being amazed when a friend started whipping up some homemade pasta for dinner as we caught up in the kitchen. And it took me a while to decide if getting a pasta machine was worth it.
Now, though, homemade pasta is a favorite meal in our house, in pretty much any form we make it. And we do make quite a range, from green spinach pasta and gently nutty chestnut pasta, to filled versions like crab ravioli, pumpkin ravioli and meaty tortellini in brodo.
I've had making our own squid ink pasta on my list for ages and am beginning to wonder what took me so long. It's just as easy as other homemade pasta doughs, has a lovely texture and who can resist that wonderful color?
How is fresh pasta different from dry pasta?
Fresh pasta is a little different from the pasta you generally buy in the store in a couple ways. First, the most obvious, is that it is soft as it's freshly made. This means you can roll it, cut it, bend it, fill it and form it into shapes.
Dry pasta, meanwhile, is firm and you can no longer change the shape. Even once you cook it, it simply grows in the shape it was when dried. One of the other knock-on impacts is that dry pasta takes longer to cook as it needs to re-hydrate. It can take anything from around 6 to 10 minutes to cook, while fresh pasta will take only a minute or two.
When you cook fresh pasta, you need more quantity-wise than dry since it needs less hydrating - some suggest around 1.25 to 1.5 times by weight is a good guide.
The other big difference is ingredients. Dry pasta is generally just flour and water. Fresh pasta, meanwhile, is usually made from flour and eggs, and often a little olive oil and salt. Then you can add in other ingredients to add color and sometimes a little flavor. Be sure to also try my spinach pasta, beet pasta dough and fresh pumpkin pasta.
How does the pasta become black?
As I've hinted at already, this pasta gets it's color by adding squid ink in the dough. This makes the pasta black, and it's sometimes called "pasta nero" as a result.
Note this is different from another dish sometimes called squid ink pasta, or "pasta al nero de sepia" as it's called in Italian, where you cook plain pasta with squid ink as more of a sauce. Here we're talking about the squid ink pasta dough.
In actual fact, most homemade squid ink pastas actually use cuttlefish ink which is from the same family but technically not the same animal as squid. But it's very similar and often easier to find. It's still tricky to find in supermarkets but many fish markets may stock it or you can buy online.
You only need a very small amount of the ink to turn the pasta a deep black color. Though again if we're getting technical, it's really a very, very dark brown rather than black, but it's near enough.
In any event, you don't need much yet it has a huge impact on the color. The dough smells a little fishy as you are preparing it, but I find this quickly goes after cooking. The flavor is very slightly different from plain pasta - it's that little bit more salty and seafood-y. But really, just plain tasty.
Tips for making squid ink pasta
Making this black pasta dough is much the same as any other pasta, though there are a couple things to keep in mind. The ink can easily stain but you also want to make it sure it is evenly distributed.
As a result, while you can make this the more traditional way by hand, I would tend to recommend using a food processor or stand mixer. Start by blending the eggs and ink together - you don't want them with lots of bubbles but you do want them blended.
Then, mix in the flour so that it forms crumbs. Bring the dough together, knead briefly then leave the dough to rest for around 30 minutes. This helps the gluten rest so it's a little easier to work with. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap/cling film to avoid it drying out.
Then, it's time to roll it out. Take part of the dough at a time and if you have a pasta machine, you can roll it through from 0 to the thickness you prefer. But you can also simply roll the dough with a rolling pin.
I like to roll this relatively thin then cut it into linguine, but you can also make other shapes, as you prefer. You can also use this dough for ravioli, lasagna or really anything you would use a plain pasta for.
Sauces to pair with squid ink pasta
While the flavor of this pasta is relatively subtle, there are a few flavors that pair well. Seafood in particular is a natural fit - we really enjoy it as the base, either alone or blended with regular pasta, for my crab pasta. Other seafood like shrimp, mussels, calamari and scallops also pair well.
As for other flavors, garlic, olive oil and tomato also go really well, and it tastes delicious (and is so easy) as my squid ink pasta with shrimp and tomato. A simple garlic oil or lemon garlic sauce would also be good, as would a marinara, maybe with some added seafood, for example.
This squid ink pasta is easy to make (making pasta is pretty therapeutic!), and the result is well worth the bit of time and effort. It has a lovely texture and delicate flavor that's a beautiful color, too. Whether you're looking to impress, want something dark for Halloween or whatever the excuse, be sure to give it a try.
If you enjoy Italian food you may also like:
- Ricotta and spinach gnudi (similar to gnocchi but no potato and more cheesy)
- Lobster ravioli (a deliciously decadent homemade pasta)
- Acorn squash gnocchi (a lovely seasonal twist on the theme)
- Plus get more Italian recipes and main dishes in the archives.
Squid ink pasta
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon squid ink or cuttlefish ink
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour plain flour
Instructions
- Place the eggs and squid ink in a food processor or stand mixer and mix until they are blended together, but stop before they get too aerated and develop foam.
- Add the flour then pulse, if using a food processor, , or mix on low for a stand mixer, until the dough comes together in small clumps/crumbs.
- Remove the dough to a floured surface and bring into a ball. Knead with floured hands for a minute or twos. It should be soft but not sticky - if it is, add a little more all-purpose/plain flour as you knead.
- Wrap in plastic/cling film and allow to rest at room temperature for around 30 minutes. At this stage, you can keep the dough in the fridge for a day or two until ready to use. Then, let it rest at room temperature around 30 minutes before rolling.
- When ready, cut a chunk from the dough (around ¼ at a time) and cover the piece you aren't working with with cling film/wrap to save it drying out.
- As you work with each piece, flatten it out slightly, dust with flour then put it through your pasta roller on the widest settings a few times (around 2 - 3 times) until smooth, dusting with flour in between if at all sticky. This is a relatively soft dough so you will likely need a bit extra flour. Then move up the settings rolling ideally twice at each setting (once from either end) until you get to the thickness you would like. On my machine, I typically roll to about '5'.
- Then, either use the cutter attachment or hand cut if you want to make into linguine/fettuccine and place the ribbons onto a floured tray or surface in little stacks or laid flat. Alternatively, cut into other pasta shapes eg bow ties, leave as sheets etc. If using for ravioli, you will want to roll thinner.
- Once you have all the pasta prepared and ready to cook, place handfuls at a time in boiling water, helping the pieces to separate as you add them, for around 2-3 minutes until they come to the surface then cook around a minute more. Drain and add to the sauce you are serving with and repeat.
- Serve immediately with your preferred sauce (see post above for ideas).
Video
Notes
Nutrition
I use my Marcato Atlas Pasta Machine
See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store.
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